


Into The Past

by shorimochi



Series: Back to the Past [2]
Category: D.Gray-man
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-12
Updated: 2018-05-01
Packaged: 2019-03-30 09:12:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 21,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13948422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shorimochi/pseuds/shorimochi
Summary: Sequel to 'To Go Back'As Allen began discovering his past, he found it harder to return. There are more sides to this war but as the truth begins to unveil, he finds everything more gray than ever.





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Some events and characterization may deviate from the canon.

35 years ago

Road anxiously headed towards the Campbell manor's office. Her dark blue hair was a mess, her dress slightly torn and muddy, her breath uneven. Inside Neah was pacing back and forth. He looked a little relieved by her arrival.  
"How is Mana?"  
She shook her head. Neah clicked his tongue. So his twin brother was still unstable. At this rate they had no chance to win.  
"Neah...is it true?"  
Neah stared at her. "That the exorcists found the Heart and its accommodator? Who knows? However, we have no more time to waste. Either way we are headed for destruction. However, the danger of the Heart is something we cannot ignore."  
Road gasped, then fell silent. Her finger fidgeted. "If the Heart is here..."  
"Our Noah will be exorcised. We will either die or remain a human with painful memories and hatred towards the Innocence, yet powerless to do anything. And who knows if we will be able to reincarnate?"  
Road was shaking by now. The other twelve disciples of Noah may be able to reincarnate but not Neah and Mana. Mana and Neah were an anomaly, an entity originally of one existence separated into two halves. Either both would perish or only one remain. If Mana were to be reborn with only half of his power, even the next generation of Noah wouldn't be able to survive with such an unstable Millennium Earl.  
They were doomed.  
Neah bit his lip. "There is still one way we can survive," he said. "Bring everyone to the dining room, Road."  
In no time she began collecting everyone, transferring each Noah to the Campbell's dining room using her door. Neah took a deep breath as he entered the dining room. He saw the instant change of expression in Wisely's face. The brat must have read his mind. He smiled sadly as he gripped his sword.  
"What's going on here, Neah?" Desires asked.  
Neah's smile was replaced with a grim line.  
"I'm sorry everyone, but please die."

 

When Mana D. Campbell woke up, Road was by his side, unconscious and bloody. His heart raced. Descending to the dining room where everyone usually gathered, his pulse halted momentarily.  
Blood spilled everywhere. Streaks of dark red were sprayed all over the walls and curtains. Shattered glasses from the broken windows made crunching sounds as he stepped further inside. The smell of death was still fresh.  
His eyes searched for his other half. Neah. His beloved Neah, his precious Neah was gone.  
He screamed.  
It lasted for either several minutes or several hours, Mana did not know. However using purely his instinct he dashed out, ignoring the cold and the hard road and pavement. Running barefooted like a mad man he screamed and called for his brother. With pure instinct he found his other half lying in a ditch, in the back alley of a road he no longer remembered.  
Neah was messed up. He had blood all over his body, his breathing was shallow and he was deathly pale. Mana's tears flowed down as he knelt in front of his twin.  
"Neah!"  
Neah let out a choked laugh.  
"I failed. I didn't expect... Apo..."  
"Neah!" Mana cried and held his twin in his arms. "Don't. Stop talking. We can get you home and with plenty of rest, you-"  
Neah shook his head. "Too late. Mana..."  
No. His Neah can't die. He just can't.  
Neah clutched his collar and pulled him closer with whatever energy he had left.  
"You know what to do. Take me, Mana."  
Mana froze.  
"Whatever I have left...take it, and you will be closer to whole," Neah croaked.  
"But... But Neah..."  
"One day... I will...return to you. Just don't stop...and keep walking."  
Neah closed his eyes, and he consumed his brother.


	2. The Clown and The Boy

27 years later...

Out of all Disciples of Noah who had died that day, only half had been reborn up until now. The latest was Wrathra, three days ago. The Fourteenth had yet to appear. With the absence of the Musician the Noah's Ark was bound to Japan and could not be moved.  
Neah. Neah. Mana could feel himself going crazy with each passing moment of remembering his brother. His brother had died because of him.  
No, because of Mana. Mana was too weak and Neah had to be sacrificed because of Mana.  
He wandered around the street alone uncaring of everything around him. Only when he felt tired and decided to stop by a pub did he realize that his wallet was missing.  
He glanced around. A boy with long red hair had scurried away carrying his wallet. He looked no older than seven or eight, with his frail, thin body. Only a torn dirty white shirt and a thin ragged vest were protecting him from the cold weather. He wore a pair of old boots too big for his tiny feet.  
He followed the boy and arrived at a circus. There he could see the boy handing his wallet to a grumpy old clown. The middle-aged man shoved him onto the ground and threw a loaf of dry bread to the boy's face.  
Oh well.  
Mana figured he was bored of his regular job anyway.

The boy was just as grumpy as the damned clown Cosimov. He was hot tempered but still, he was kind. He picked up any stray coin he found on the ground but shared a piece of bread with Allen. He was scared of large animals but Mana found it adorable anyway. He claimed that he hated clowns and that he would leave the circus once he was old enough to fend for himself, but soon he was attached to Mana.  
A few times Mana tried to make the boy call him daddy but it seemed like he was either to stubborn or too shy to do that.  
He had wondered why he felt attached to the boy too. Was it sympathy? The boy was left by his parents due to his deformed arm and treated like a freak but so were many other kids born Siamese twins or with extra limbs at the circus.  
He found his answer when they began travelling together, and began sleeping in the same tent, huddled together to stay warm. At night, for the first time in more than two decades Neah came to visit him in his dreams. It only happened when he slept close to the boy. Neah wouldn't say anything. He simply smiled and disappeared, before Mana would wake up.  
At first Mana couldn't figure out why, until he stared at the boy long enough to realize that the longing feeling he had towards the boy was because he had found his other half.  
Neah. Neah had returned to him. He had not remembered yet but his brother had kept his promise and returned to him. Mana wondered if this was the reason he felt so in peace with the boy.  
Unfortunately the peace didn't last long.  
After three years of traveling from one circus to another, earning their living through street performance, it came.  
The same thing that Mana would later found out, had ruined Neah's plan years ago. The thing that hurt Neah so badly that he was forced to consume his brother to ensure that both would survive and live sanely.  
It was a simple carriage accident, really. Even a human, if lucky enough, could have survived it.  
But Mana's reincarnated brother, whom he had finally able to make him call Mana 'daddy', had carelessly ran across the street to pick up a stray kitty that was wandering.  
He saw the carriage coming and pushed his son away from danger.  
Normally such thing could not harm a Noah, even non fighters like Wisely. Well, technically they could be harmed but mere injuries would heal in no time.  
Now here was the problem.  
Seconds within the impact he heard screams and calls for help from the crowd. From the crowd. There were people watching them.  
The newly reborn Neah did not know he was a Noah, that they were both Noah. People outside the Church and Black Order had no idea of the Noah's existence aside from the biblical references. Hence, he was left to stay there like a dead man because he could not expose himself and most importantly Neah to the world.  
Fluttering his eyelids he saw his son sobbing as the boy crawled to cradle his head. A man approached them and tried to separate them. He had a malicious grin on his face that even his glasses couldn't hide the evil intent in his eyes.  
That man. He tried to take Neah away from him. The man pretended to check on him, and announced him as dead. The boy's scream followed the announcement.  
"Daddy!!!"  
Ah, finally. Daddy. It sounded so nice, though once Neah recovered his memories he probably would feel so embarrassed by that. Mana rather liked the sound of that. Even though Katerina had made Mana the older brother, Neah always acted like he was the more mature one. He treated Mana like a child just because the latter required more attention when they were still kids.  
The whole time Mana was surrounded by priests and couldn't escape, while reincarnated Neah was taken to the hospital. Some shards of the broken carriage had injured his face. Mana was put inside a coffin and was buried. He escaped, though it was too late. When he sent an akuma to go after his son, it was destroyed.  
By his son.  
That cursed Individual Innocence had implanted false memories into his son's head and awakened the dormant Innocence on his left arm.  
Now he could only watch from afar as his son leaned against the fake grave that buried nobody. He managed to leave a mark on his son - a pentagram, and a cursed eye to replace his son's blinded left eye.  
The boy's memories had been altered. In his mind he had summoned Mana's soul, and was cursed by his foster father. His Innocence activated just in time to rescue him. The damn individual Innocence had conveniently made the Millennium Earl a complete bad guy in his son's mind.  
But it's okay. I'll come back with a plan, Mana thought.  
The next day when he went to look for his son, the boy was nowhere to be found.  
As days passed Mana slowly fell into insanity. He searched for the boy desperately but to no avail. Nobody had heard of a redhead boy called Neah or Red.  
Throughout the course of his search, the akuma did report hearing something strange. The story had been circulating more than twenty years ago. Somebody had leaked out that the Fourteenth Noah had betrayed the Noah family and tried to kill the Millennium Earl, before running away after he had failed. There was no mention of the Individual Innocence at all.  
Mana could care less about the rumor. All he knew was that his other half was missing and he was taken away by the Innocence. He would get his revenge one day.  
That was why he would continue to make akumas, until one day he could be reunited with Neah.


	3. Chapter 3

Present Day

Allen knew the Campbell manor was huge. He had seen it in his dreams (or memories). He knew there was an old tree that Katerina cherished, he knew that there were a lot of rooms where Neah and Mana used to play hide and seek. There was supposed to be a horse stable, herb garden, apple trees, servants' quarter, and everything an English nobleman's house usually had. Just because he expected it to be large did not mean he was not surprised to see even the entrance.  
Although more than the grandeur Allen was stunned to see that the house was well maintained. The lawn was mowed, the hedges were trimmed and overall it did not look like a haunted house. If Allen had done his calculation right Neah had died 35 years ago, and he was already in his late teens based on how he looked like. If he was still alive he should be at least fifty years old by now. Katerina, his mother, would be at least in her late sixties even if she had them at a young age. Perhaps being a noblewoman she had better food and thus better health. Was she even alive? What happened when Neah and Mana awakened their Noah?  
Allen did not have the courage to step inside and ask if the lady of the manor was his adoptive grandmother. He could feel Tyki's judging stare bore through his head.  
"The bell is over there, boy."  
"Shut up. What am I supposed to say, 'Hello Ma'am, but I am your adoptive grandson'?"  
"You didn't come here to sight-see. Is looking at rich people's house your new hobby?"  
Allen frowned. "Hey Tyki...was Sheril married when he found out that he is a Noah?"  
Tyki hummed for a while as he tried to recall it. He was one of the newer Noahs before Skinn Bolic so he had no idea how others awakened their Noahs. "If I am not mistaken, yes. Sheril is not young, and the reincarnation cycle first occured perhaps around fifteen to twenty years ago. Why?"  
"I'm just wondering what happened to Katerina when both her sons turned out to be Noahs," said Allen.  
"Well, some Noahs don't change. Some do. Lulubell completely left the 'normal humans' and spends almost all her time with the Earl, as you can see. Sheril likes to play house. He keeps his human wife, adopted Road and sends her to school, and still walks around pretending to be a normal human most of the time," Tyki answered.  
Allen sneered. "Like you. Except that you choose to be a bum rather than enjoying life."  
"Who says you cannot be a bum and enjoy life? Come on, let's get back to the carriage if you're not going to do anything."  
Allen nodded and followed his companion slash babysitter back to the carriage. He stared at the house longingly. Strange. Now that he had stood there long enough he began to feel a sense of nostalgia there.  
"The house doesn't give me a good feeling," Tyki suddenly spoke. "My inner Noah is raging inside, particularly towards you."  
"Neah is not speaking either. I expected him to fight for dominance now that we are here but he is staying silent, almost like he is grieving. Maybe there are some bad memories here," Allen uttered.  
"Like what?"  
"I don't know. Maybe somebody died?" Allen suggested.  
He realized he had uttered the wrong words - or rather the correct words - as he felt Neah's inner turmoil. Something had happened inside the manor. Somebody died and it was related to Neah. Since Tyki's Noah was acting up it may have something to do with the Noah as well.  
Allen's eyes widened. 35 years ago all Noahs save for Road and the Earl were killed by Neah. Could it be here?  
He did not have time to ponder as a servant girl was heading towards the gate with a grocery basket, most likely out to go shopping for dinner. Tyki ordered for the carriage to bring them back to their inn. The younger boy gulped as he realized he had accidentally made eye contact with the girl through the window as the carriage passed by the gate. She had given him a strange look. Oh well, she probably thought he was a stalker.  
That night Allen had a dream. He was speaking to Road. She had brought several people he did not recognize yet feel strangely familiar with into a room. Then the people and the room disappeared, and he was leaning against a ditch with blood all over him, soaking his shirt and caking on his face. A young man with long red hair and round glasses came to him.  
'I will keep your memories safe', that was what the man had told him. Oddly enough the man looked almost exactly like him.  
Then the man disappeared and Mana came to him instead with tears. He wanted to laugh. Mana looked ridiculous. His unruly long hair made him look like a wild lion. His face was full of tears and snot that Allen wanted to help him wipe them, but when he raised his hand, all he could see was blood.  
Allen jolted up awake. He felt an extreme headache throbbing in his head and gritted his teeth. His knees were weak, his arms felt heavy and his palms sweaty.  
That was not a dream.  
The images were vague and blurry but the emotions he felt were raw and real. He glanced at Tyki, his lousy bodyguard who was snoring in the bed next to his.  
Neah did not betray the Noahs. At least that alone he could deduce from his conversation with Road. He had killed the Noahs in order to ensure that they would be reincarnated with their memories and power. Allen did not know whether to feel impressed or to hate Neah now. If he hadn't killed the Noahs then they wouldn't be reincarnated. So many innocent people would be spared. After meeting Apocryphos, he wasn't so sure about the 'innocent' part though. Still, kind people like Marshall Yeager did not have to die. Suman and the people at the Chinese village did not have to die.  
But would he be happy if Road and Tyki, who saved his life die? Would he be happy if Mana dies?  
Then there was that redhead who looked like him. Allen absentmindedly ran his fingers through strands of his red-dyed hair. The red of that young man's hair was the exact same shade of his original hair, which he could barely recall after years of living with white hair. The red reminded him of his time at the circus. Back then as an abandoned child he did not have a name, and so everyone called him Red. Mana came later, and brought his dog, Allen. After Allen died, he took that name.  
Wait, no. Allen scratched his head. He did not take that name. In fact, Master Cross was the first to call him Allen. After he had exorcised Mana, Cross brought him to Mother's house and told Mother, that 'this is Allen'. When he left Mother's house, she called him Allen Walker in memories of Mana.  
Before that he wasn't called Allen. He was never 'Allen', before he met Cross.  
Allen felt dread setting inside him as his mind was slowly cleared and faint memories began to set in with more clarity. Mana had never called him Allen. He had heard the name Allen so many times - from Mana calling his dog. All the time he had traveled with Mana...  
He had called him Red, or Neah.


	4. The Big Eater Boy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I suck at titles, sorry.  
> As mentioned some event may deviate from Canon.

The market was a lively place and definitely not the first location that came to Kanda's mind when looking for Innocence. However he and the stupid rabbit came upon it quite easily without resistance. An old woman had picked it up and sold it off to the local pawn shop, and the Finders had simply directed them to the pawn shop, where they bought the Innocence, which took the form of an old necklace. Locals had avoided buying the necklace as it was rumored to be haunted or magical, but the exorcists knew better.  
Kanda made a sour face as he and Lavi headed to the restaurant where they promised to meet Lenalee, Noise Marie, and Bookman. Lavi glanced at him from time to time uneasily. He knew why Kanda was in a bad mood. They spent quite a deal of money to obtain that Innocence. Kanda was used to fighting akumas off, obliterating them with his Mugen instead of arguing with the pawn shop owner.  
"Hey Yuu, at least we got it nice and safe," Lavi tried to say it in a manner to not irritate the swordsman although it was to no avail.  
"Tch. We could have just threaten the owner to give it to us. Sooner or later akuma will come after it and he knows that the Innocence isn't something he should display on a table," Kanda grunted.  
"Violence is not good, Yuu! You saw how persistent the owner was. He himself told us that the necklace was apparently haunted, yet he refused to back down and sell it cheap. Businessmen these days are no joke..."  
Kanda clicked his tongue and Lavi decided to leave it at that. They arrived at the restaurant. Lenalee and Marie were already waiting for them and had ordered in advance for the two as well. The restaurant was packed with large, burly men. Lavi shuddered.  
"Is there a reason why we are surrounded by macho men today?" asked the Bookman Junior.  
Lenalee laughed. "No. It seems like this restaurant is hosting a Big Eater Competition for three days. Today is the last day," she explained.  
Big Eater, huh. That reminded Lavi of a certain someone. A middle-aged lady arrived to their table with their food.  
"Are you folks not interested in the competition? The winner eats free of charge," the lady asked.  
Lavi grinned. "And the losers? Do they have to foot the bill?"  
He received a smirk in exchange. As if a restaurant would serve platters upon platters of food for free. The competition was just one of their ways to gain more profit.  
"Unfortunately I don't think any of us are capable to do that," Marie politely declined the offer.  
"Well, all of you certainly look too skinny. Then again, so was the boy from yesterday."  
Lavi tilted his head up to meet the lady's eyes. "Boy from yesterday?"  
"Why yes, yesterday's winner. You wouldn't believe a boy that skinny could eat so much! He was a cute one too, yet of all the winners we had over the years he was the most impressive," the lady recalled the event with a laugh. "He didn't stop eating until his servant came to pick him up."  
Lenalee frowned. "A servant? Was he a rich boy?"  
The lady shook her head. "Who knows? He certainly looked like a well-off English gentleman. His clothes were from the finest fabric. His servant keeps saying something like, 'The Earl will not be pleased'. Some noblemen like to do that, coming to the commoners' places, where they don't have to care about putting on appearance."  
Lavi grinned. "Interesting. I've heard of noblemen pretending to be peasants but never one competing in a Big Eater Competition. Plus, a skinny one?"  
"Peculiar ones like that do appear from time to time. He is the relative of Campbells, so I am not surprised," the lady huffed.  
"The Campbells?" Lenalee repeated.  
"If you went across that way, you can see a large manor belonging to the late Earl Campbell. Haven't you heard of them? The mistress of the house, Lady Katerina Campbell has not gone out from the house for years. More than thirty years ago, when I was still a young, unmarried girl, Lady Katerina's younger son was found dead in a street and her eldest son went missing. Nobody knew who committed the murder. Some assumed it was the work of a beast, since the body was said to be in a horrible condition. Nobody has seen neither Lady Katerina nor her eldest son since the funeral. Some says he walks around the street and lived like a mad man he is after that. It is quite a famous gossip in this town."  
Strange things could happen anywhere, even in a seemingly peaceful town like this where they managed to obtain an Innocence without fight, thought Lavi. He kept feeling uneasy ever since they obtained the Innocence. It was way too strange that a place where an Innocence was displayed so openly would not have any akumas around. He was sure the Earl wouldn't mind spending a couple bags of coins to send an akuma in disguise and buy the Innocence, in case he wanted to destroy it quietly. In almost every town Lavi had traveled to with the exorcists there was never an occurrence where they never came across any akuma.  
Did it have something to do with the beast that killed Young Master Campbell years ago? Maybe the young master was secretly an akuma? Lavi remembered Allen once told him the story of an Innocence attached to an ancient-time warrior, who killed all akumas that tried to get it. Even Kanda, the master swordsman of Black Order had struggled in the fight against that warrior.  
Then the boy claiming to be the relative of Campbells may also be someone sent by the Earl. There was no way a relative that young would only appear after thirty five years, unless it was a special case of unregistered illegal child or something.  
"So...is the boy now at the Campbell manor?" Lavi asked.  
"Oh, I don't think so. He asked me if I know anyone else well acquainted to the Campbells, so I showed him the old church where Lady Katerina's son often went to. The old church is not far from the manor, but it is on the verge of crumbling apart, so you may find it easily."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you are wondering why the restaurant lady thinks the big eater's companion is a servant, remember that guy likes to disguise as a hobo


	5. Names

"Whoa. That old lady wasn't kidding when she says this place looks like shit," Tyki commented.  
Allen shook his head as he stepped down from the carriage. "She did not word it like that. She said the place has been abandoned for years. Only old people who cannot walk to the new church comes here."  
"Doesn't matter. Isn't it easier to see Lady Katerina? Why wouldn't you go and see her?"  
"Shut up," was Allen's only reply. He knocked the door, and then realized that nobody would answer.  
The teen opened the creaking, wooden door cautiously as he realized it was so fragile it could break and crumble to dust if treated too harsh. He stepped inside and instantly coughed. The amount of dust inside the hall was no joke. The altar was empty save for a couple of candles and the single statue of Virgin Mary had lost its right hand and left leg. Allen was about to think that maybe coming there was a waste of time, until a very old priest with thinning white hair and trembling hands came to greet them.  
"I am Father Smith. To what pleasure do I owe such young visitors..."   
The priest was looking at Allen. His eyes scanned the young boy up and down. Allen felt shivers down to his insides but curved a friendly smile anyway.  
"I am an acquaintance of the Campbells. Do you mind if I ask you several things?"

 

"Yes, there were four of them. Father Alfred taught them things that should not be taught to humans."  
Allen bit his lower lip. He stared at the old, black and white photo in his hands. It was worn and faded with time but he could still make out the silhouettes. There were four people in the photo and he recognized all of them. Perhaps he and Cross Marian alone would be the only people who recognized all four individuals photographed in there.  
To the left was Maria in her nun outfit. Next to Maria was Cross, still in his early teen but already wearing the same scowl Allen always saw on his face. Next to Cross was Neah D. Campbell smiling cheerfully as if there was no conflict between the church and Noahs. To the right, was that young man. The one Allen saw in his memories, the one who offered to be the vessel for Neah's memories.  
The real, the original Allen, most likely.  
In the photo he looked closer to Allen's current age. Albeit the faded details Allen could still see the resemblance. He was the exact carbon copy of that man. Allen pressed his palm against his chest. He wondered if he was even real.  
The old, almost rotting building served as a church to the locals up until twenty years ago. It also provided free education for the poor. Cross Marian had been one of them - a son of a poor farmer family who entered the school to obtain free education. Otherwise Allen couldn't think of a reason such a frivolous man would become a priest. The church was also home to budding scientists. People like Cross, who were there for free books and pens spent most of their life studying botany and alchemy instead of bibles. Resources and donations were available at the church library after all. Among them was Father Alfred Walker, who was rumored to study sorcery, including necromancy. Allen found it ironic that a priest would dedicate his life to study an art forbidden by the church.  
Thanks to his passion for the forbidden arts Father Alfred was shunned by others, with the exception of four people who were also fascinated by his interest and eventually became his students. Maria the church pianist; Cross Marian the poor farmer boy and priest-in-training; Neah D. Campbell the son of Earl Campbell; and this mysterious redhead guy.  
According to Father Smith they called him René. Some called him David, some Frederick, some Albert. Nobody knew the redhead's real name as he went by several aliases but Father Alfred called him René. Allen asked the old caretaker if he remembered what Maria, Cross, and Neah called this man. The caretaker frowned.  
"It was either René or Allen. When he first came here he was René. Later on he told them to call him Allen."  
A man who went around using different names, with interest in sorcery and science. There were many who could fit the latter part but Allen only knew few people who could get away using several different names.  
Bookmen.  
The redhead was a Bookman. No, to be more accurate the previous Bookman Junior. Of course, it made sense. Lavi was only nineteen, or eighteen, at most in his early twenties. It did not make sense to have such a wide age gap with the Grandpa Bookman. René was most likely the Bookman's apprentice before Lavi. If Allen recalled it right Sheril once mentioned that prior to recording from Black Order's side the Bookmen were recording from Noah's side. They were neutral and free to choose sides to record from after all.  
Renée was most likely a Bookman Junior who was recording from the Noah's side. In the midst of the dispute he had formed an attachment to the Noahs, though in other words he had also failed as a Bookman.  
"Is there anything else you know? Where did these people go?"  
The caretaker scrunched his face as he stared at the photo to recover memories almost lost from old age.  
"The Campbell boy died. René disappeared not long after that. Cross and Maria...they were taken away by the Vatican to become exorcists. I know nothing more."  
Allen took a deep breath. It was an exhilarating journey of more acceptance rather than discovery.  
"You've been very helpful, Mr. Caretaker."  
The old man looked at him with nostalgic eyes. "You look so much like him. René. What is your name?"  
He smiled.   
"It's Allen. Allen Walker."


	6. Return of Wisely

"Were you satisfied, boy?"  
"Let's go back to the Ark. I am too tired to even think."  
"You look like you're about to cry."  
"Shut up."  
Tyki raised an eyebrow. He thought the boy would want to stay and see his friends. Tyki did not say anything but he had sensed the presence of at least two or three Innocence while they were in town. The only reason why a group of Innocence would be in the same place was that there were exorcists around. Allen did not seem to be bothered by it anyway. When they returned to the ark the boy had slammed his door shut without a word.  
Did I say something wrong? I don't think so, Tyki pondered.  
Road came to inform him before dinnertime that they managed to collect the reincarnated Wisely safely. Tyki snorted. Another troublesome one. He felt even more uneasy when his eyes met Wisely's five eyes. It almost felt like the Noah was looking into his mind, which he was indeed doing, actually. The dinner table was full to celebrate the new member, except for the chair next to the Earl. The Earl glanced at one of the akuma servants.  
"My dear akuma, why is the Fourteenth not with us?"  
"My apology, Earl. When I went to his room it was locked and he refused to answer."  
"We have a new family member. We shall need everyone-"  
"That's fine, Millennium Earl. Let the Fourteenth be for a while," Wisely said. "It has been a hard day for him."  
Tyki raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"  
"You were the one with him, you should know. When I passed through his room I keep hearing pained cries filling my head, I didn't even need to use my eyes," said the newly reincarnated Noah while pointing at his own forehead. "I heard that the Fourteenth did not fully awaken his memories. It is likely that he is starting to remember and the pain is suffocating him."  
The Earl gasped. "Why, the more reason we should have him join the family dinner!"  
"Leave him for a while, Earl. You are acting like an overly attached daddy, you know? It's annoying," Road said.  
Tyki almost laughed at that. The Noah of Dreams did not notice that Sheril's face had turned grim at her words, and he was mumbling the word 'annoying' to himself.  
Allen turned up anyway at dinner, albeit he arrived when dessert was already served. He raised an eyebrow as he took in the appearance of the latest member of the family. Wisely waved at him as a greeting, but then suddenly cursed and curled in, groaning from the abrupt painful migraine.  
"Shit. What's wrong with your head, Fourteenth?" Wisely gritted his teeth.  
"What do you mean? I'm not the one with five eyes," answered Allen before stuffing his mouth with food.  
The Earl introduced Wisely to them once again and Tyki noticed that strangely enough Allen did not look surprised. It was almost like he was expecting for the Noah of Wisdom to appear sooner or later. As soon as the latter was done with his migraine he glared at the Musician for giving him the pain of a lifetime.  
As if sensing what he was about to say, Allen snorted. "Who asked you to peek into my mind?"  
"It happens, okay? I didn't purposely do that."  
"Sure," Allen replied sarcastically.  
"You shouldn't try to do everything alone this time, Fourteenth. Look what happened the last time you tried to shoulder everything on your own," Wisely said.  
"Your asses were saved," Allen answered. He then blinked. "Wait - you know? I mean, you remember?"  
Wisely nodded. "I am the sole Noah with the ability to remember my previous incarnations. Others don't."  
Allen sat back. He had always wondered why Road, Tyki, and Wisely were the only Noahs who acted...civil (friendly?) with him. Tyki probably just did not care about the past. Road and Wisely knew what happened. No wonder they did not blame him for the incident 35 years ago.  
"You're right. Road and I are the only Noahs who knew why Neah turned his back against us," Wisely admitted. "Though, calling it a betrayal is incorrect since his intention was never to betray."  
"Stop reading my mind," Allen warned.  
Sheril was piqued with curiosity. "What do you mean by that, Wisely?"  
"Well, 35 years ago, Neah and Road found out that-"  
"Stop!" Allen yelled. "Don't tell them anything."  
Wisely stared at him. "Why not? You've been branded a traitor all these years."  
Allen gulped. He could not imagine what the Noahs would do once they discovered the truth, particularly the Earl. In spite of Neah's 'betrayal' he still cherished his other half so much, Allen could not bear the thought of what the insane Earl and the other Noahs would do when they found out that the Fourteenth had done that to protect them. Not to mention Neah had died by the hands of Apocryphos, whom until now was chasing after his reincarnation. He was not prepared for an early war.  
He saw the look in Wisely's eyes. Clearly the Noah of Wisdom had read his thought and disagreed with it, but for now decided to not utter a word. Yet.  
"What is the meaning of this, Fourteenth, Wisely?" Millennium Earl questioned.  
Allen looked away. "Nothing. Thank you for the meal. I'm going back to my room."  
He left. Tyki hummed.  
Allen did not finish his food.

#

Neah skipped happily as he entered the laboratory. The room was messier than usual. The rows of glass tubes and potted herbs were not arranged in the order they usually were. The young master of Campbell's family glanced around.  
"Where is Maria?" Neah asked.  
There was a tiny creaking sound before somebody answered. "Off to another audition."  
It was René, who was half juggling with the books he carried in his arms as he descended from the wooden ladder. Feeling mischievous Neah playfully shook the ladder, causing the redhead to shriek.   
"You bloody twat! What if I dropped those books?!"  
Neah shrugged and ignored the curses that streamed out of René's mouth. He put his belongings on the desk and began to stack up the strewn papers.  
"I don't think the opera would take in a nun as their star. She should just give up either one," Neah muttered.  
"If she quits being a nun she will have neither place to sleep nor the chance to study here again."  
"My family can take her in, she can stay as a live-in maid."  
"And what would Mana and your mother say about that?"  
"'Oh joy! What a lovely young maiden with a beautiful voice you brought home, Neah!'" He said, mimicking Katerina's tone.  
René stuck out his tongue. Cross entered the lab with his usual scowl.  
"Father Alfred?" He asked.  
"Off to cemetery," René answered.  
"Again?"  
"... There is a funeral. Honestly, do you think the man is mad enough to look for a dead body in the cemetery, in the bright daylight?"  
Cross shrugged. "He is mad enough to study necromancy and sorcery in a church. Last time when I followed him to the undertaker's he requested for the freshest body available."  
René rolled his eyes. "If he succeeds he will be the first man to successfully perform necromancy."  
"He already managed to get his hand on an Innocence," Cross said.  
Neah stopped stacking the papers. "An Innocence? How in the world? Isn't that exclusive for the Black Order?"  
"Got it from the body of a dead greenhorn exorcist, that was mixed up with some dead peddlers. The Innocence was embedded inside that man, so nobody noticed it. He cut open the man's throat and brought it back," Cross explain.  
Neah looked like he was ready to throw up. All of them had known Father Alfred as an eccentric man even before they requested to be under his tutelage. While other priests studied pharmacology, astronomy, or alchemy, not many studied biology, and the middle-aged priest was the only person who studied biology not for medicinal purposes but for necromancy. While the Vatican was strictly prohibiting witchcraft Father Alfred secretly studied sorcery. It was amazing how he still managed to keep his title. It may have something to do with how well he kept his secret from the higher ups. The laboratory in fact was filled with innocent-looking herbs and books. If one bothered to read his papers that were left everywhere like and filled with child-like doodles, they would find notes on forbidden arts written there. Despite all that Neah did not think the priest would stoop so low to cutting open an exorcist's body to extract his Innocence out. That is kind of desecrating isn't it, he thought to himself.  
"Even if he plans to use the Innocence, it is useless without an accomodator. How does he plan to find one?"  
"There are plenty of pure hearted children at the orphanage. That is what the Black Order often does, pick a kid without parents and test their compatibility," Cross yawned. "All in the name of winning the war against the evil. What's wrong with your face, Neah?"  
The brunette shook his head. "Nothing. I just feel sick."  
"Anyone would. Even the church has its dirty side and sadly many people also survived because of that. Well, if Father Alfred is not here I'm going back to the library," said Cross.  
René looked at his friend and spoke as soon as Cross left. "Do you ever plan to tell them?"  
Neah shook his head. "Perhaps one day. It has just been a few weeks since we awakened the Noah memories. Thanks to that Mana is no longer sick, but he has become more emotional."  
René nodded. "I have to follow Bookman next week. I may not come back for a few months and by the time I come back..."  
"You'll have a new alias again."  
René shrugged. "I've counted and so far I've had 39 personas."  
"You make a poor Bookman, getting attached like this," Neah said. "Your best friends are part of the church and the Noahs. Where do you stand?"  
"Why," René grinned. "Whichever more interesting to record, of course."

Whichever more interesting my ass, Allen spitefully thought after he woke up. That was a terrible dream. Again Mana was snoring peacefully next to him that he wondered if he should request for a bigger bed next time. The single bed was enough for two adults to lie on since they were both lean, but Mana was a fairly large man and it wasn't big enough for him to not feel Mana's breath on his cheek. He had already given up on asking the man to not sleep in his bed. Even when he moved to another bed in the middle of the night he found himself sleeping next to his adoptive father once again the next morning.  
At least he did not put on his Earl suit when he was sleeping. That would be like waking up to a nightmare.  
He showered, re-dyed his hair and put on his clothes. The akuma maids made the temporary hair dye from the same beets they used to make food colouring and a simple shower had washed the colour off. Allen wondered if he should just use henna on his hair. He remembered the ladies he met in India told him that henna last longer and can be used on hair as well.  
Nah. Maybe not. He could dye his hair and eyebrows but not his eyelash. The people he met either had poor eyesight or not observant enough but someone was bound to notice the white eyelash. The first day he walked around with Tyki they received quite an amount of unwanted attention to because of the man's good look. By the second day he decided he would rather put up with a hobo following him around rather than a swarm of gossiping ladies. At least he had a good laugh out of it when everyone though Tyki was his servant.  
When he came down for his morning jog Wisely was the only one downstairs, although the young man was lazing on the couch with no intent to work out. Their eyes met and Wisely stretched his limbs.  
"Off for a morning jog?"  
"Yes. I guess you're not."  
"I'm not. But I will join you today."  
It turned into a morning walk instead of a morning jog within fifteen minutes because of Wisely's preference for indoor activities that caused him to gasp for breaths even though Allen was barely sweating. He sneered at the Noah of Wisdom.  
"My strength is not in physical ability," Wisely argued weakly.  
"You're pathetic even for human standards. What are those, jellies?"  
He pouted. "You're going out again today?"  
"Well, I am not done yet."  
"Joyd told me you did not have the guts to knock the door. Or the gate, actually."  
"Well, what am I supposed to say?"  
"The truth," Wisely answered. "Katerina knows more than you think. She knows that Mana and Neah are two halves of the Earl. She was the one who lied and tell everyone that the two are twins born from her womb, with Adam."  
Allen stared at him. Wisely's words began to process in his brain. Wisely saw the look in Allen's face and realized that while Neah knew, Allen did not. Shit. This was the problem with reading the mind of...multiple people in one body.  
"The hell?!" Allen screamed.  
Wisely had the decency to look embarrassed. "Sorry, I thought you knew."  
"I did not... Neah! It's him!" Allen wailed. "These days he's been awfully silent despite being so...persistent about taking over my body!"  
"Perhaps he'd rather you find the truth on your own. It is easier to believe in something you have seen with your own eyes," Wisely offered a bit of wisdom. "If you didn't encounter Apocryphos or the Artificial Exorcists you wouldn't believe that the Black Order is tainted, would you?"  
"Well, I can see why my master hates that place," Allen admitted. "I do wonder what happened to him now."  
"If you're going out, you may be able to see him. So, what time?"  
"After breakfast. Why?"  
"Well, I need to get ready."  
"... No. You're not coming with me."  
"I'll wait for you at the gate, Fourteenth."


	7. A Distasteful Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still alive. Just drowned in work. Thank you to everyone who actually read this fic.

As a matter of fact, Cross was safe. Safe, healthy (except for his liver maybe), a little tipsy, but not happy. Still a jerk though. Allen found out that much after he arrived at one of his favourite restaurants in Liverpool, a week after he was back from London. The womaniser had left a tab under his name, once more. It was just recent too. At least now he knew his master was likely still around the area. Cross owed him an explanation, big time. Allen did not know why he did not ask Cross about his relationship with Neah before.   
Oh, right. Maybe because he was surrounded by Crows at that time, with Lvellier hearing their conversation in another room.  
This time Wisely had insisted on following him as well. It made everything more difficult for Allen because now he had Wisely keeping an eye (or five) on him in addition to Tyki. As useful as Wisely's ability was, the guy couldn't fight. Lenalee's bare foot would be enough to send him to the hospital. And so he could not get rid of his hobo bodyguard.  
Allen originally planned to see Mother to ask if she knew about Neah and ...real Allen but with those two around, he was hesitant. He did not want to involve Mother with the Noah business, or even reveal her location. It was either by good luck or misfortune, that Exorcists from the Black Order were also there. Specifically, Kanda and Lavi. A rare combination, if Allen had to say something about that. Kanda hated Lavi's playfulness as much as he hated Allen's guts. He spotted the two talking to the florist across the street while he was inside a restaurant.  
They had no reason to be in Liverpool unless there was an Innocence around and Allen couldn't remember encountering any Innocence around here. They had an incidence with akumas due to the broker, which he and Lenalee had solved before. Strange. Did the Order somehow managed to get wind of his location here? Allen admitted he could have been too friendly in the past that several locals may recognize him even with his hair dyed. Just the other day when he was in London he met the female police whom he had rescued before he first came to the Black Order.  
"Tyki, go get the carriage to stand by at the door," Allen whispered.  
Tyki rolled his eyes. "Boy, just because I'm playing the role of your servant you're really taking advantage of it, huh."  
"Go and get it, you bum," Wisely's words possessed not an ounce of manner nor humbleness. "There are exorcists out there."  
"Really, what's the point of your disguise then?"  
"I don't know, maybe because I am the only person around with white hair at my age?"  
The Noah of Pleasure gave up and proceeded to go and find them a carriage. Wisely leaned closer towards Allen. "Who is Mother?"  
"...No hiding from you, huh. She is an acquaintance of Cross who helped us when Cross found me. She is not affiliated to anyone, though."  
"A neutral, like the Bookmen."  
"... Do you recognize my face, Wisely?" Allen dared himself to ask.  
'Do you know whose face this belongs to?' was what he really wanted to ask. 'Was my former self really the Bookman's apprentice?'  
Wisely gazed into his silver eyes. The Noah of Wisdom sighed and shook his head. "I do not have the answers to your questions, unfortunately. After the last time I blurted out about Katerina to you, the Fourteenth now knows I can see into his mind as well and has shut himself. But if it helps...no, I do not recognize your current face. My past incarnation has met the Bookman, but not the apprentice. Neah has never brought home any of his acquaintances to meet us too."  
"...my current face," Allen repeated.  
"Isn't that what you're curious about? 35 years have passed. It is a different story if you stop aging, since Noah can do that, but you grew up normally. You have memories as a kid as early as four, five years old, completely normal for a human. If you think you are actually the former Bookman Apprentice himself because you look identical...well, I do not have any explanation for that."  
Allen frowned. "You know, 35 years have passed for Master Cross as well. From what I saw in my memories he was at least twelve or thirteen when Neah was fifteen or sixteen. He should be nearly fifty by now at least, but he still looks like he's in his thirties."  
Wisely smirked. "If he looks like he is thirty... that would be like he has stopped aging since...hmm, fifteen years or so? Just around the time 'you' were born, huh?"

###

"A case of disappearing people? No, I haven't heard anything about that," the florist said. "Lately it's been peaceful. There was a time when quite a lot of people passed away but after the hospital director left the town, there hasn't been any peculiarity."  
Kanda and Lavi exchanged looks. They were aware of the akuma extermination Lenalee and Allen had done a year ago. That must be the incident the florist mentioned.  
"Any strangers you've seen around here?" Lavi asked.  
The florist scowled. "You two are the only strangers around here. Oh, but that reminds me - yesterday there was a young lad with dark skin and an odd sense of fashion who just checked in at the inn across the street. There were two other people with him, a redhead and a brunette."  
Lavi thanked the florist and they headed towards the inn. The innkeeper informed them that yes, there were three males indeed who were staying in their inn. The innkeeper did not take note of the other two, who had typical Caucasian looks, and only remembered the one with dark skin, who was dressed like an English gentleman but tied a cloth around his forehead.  
"The redhead may be a local. He was the one I spoke to. I've talked to several foreigners before and he sounds like a local," the innkeeper explained as he browsed through the guestbook. "Let's see...ah, here it is. René D. Campbell. That's the young chap."  
"René D. Campbell? Is that his name? What about the others?" Lavi asked.  
He received a smack on the head from Kanda. "You asked too much questions, you stupid rabbit."  
Lavi groaned and rubbed his head. There was no mistake. Bookman refused to entertain his curiosity but he knew René D. Campbell was a fake name used by very most likely Allen Walker, the Beansprout on the run. Lavi still had no idea how Allen was connected to the Campbell family but he had an idea. The gramps wouldn't answer, but he didn't forbid Lavi from investigating too.  
"I guess we'll have to spend the night here."  
"Why do I have to stay here?"  
"Because it's your Beansprout and you kind of have a radar for him," Lavi grinned.  
"Tch," Kanda clicked his tongue. "Are you certain he's even here? What if he leaves the town-"  
"Nah, perhaps not in the nearest time," Lavi said. "According to Komui, Marshall Cross is no longer at the Headquarters. When I went to look for food earlier at noon some people recognized the Rose Cross I'm wearing and asked if I'm from the Church."  
Kanda raised an eyebrow. "Commoners asked you that?"  
"Shop owners. The Marshall left several tabs for Allen to pick up, almost like hinting that he is here. They're probably trying to meet."  
"Hmph. Shouldn't we let them?"  
Lavi frowned. Kanda was probably right. In the first place Lavi was in the Order not as an exorcist but an observer. He had no obligation to report to the chief or even the Central if Allen was spotted. Kanda...well, Yuu was always a rebel. They settled their belongings in the room before heading down to the restaurant downstairs to grab some dinner.

Lavi had never believed in fate before this. Yet as soon as he landed on the squeaky wooden stool he found himself looking at a redhead with silver eyes sitting at the table surrounded by a couple of macho men. What bothered him the most was that not only the redhead looked so, so, so much, like Allen Walker, he also had white eyelashes (something nobody but Lavi only noticed). Sitting next to the redhead was a young man, a little older than Allen perhaps, with dark skin and a turban-like cloth wrapped around his forehead. From what Lavi could see the macho men were there for a couple of card games, and just by looking at their faces the Bookman apprentice knew they were losing to the smiling redhead.  
Classic Allen, gambling even when on the run from a large, powerful organisation. Lavi suspected the boy sometimes played for fun instead of survival. He glanced at his travelling companion and let out a short squeak when he noticed the dark aura emitted by Kanda.  
"What's wrong, Yuu?"   
Kanda grunted. "For some reason that redhead over there... I really feel like slicing him to pieces."  
Ehhh? He didn't recognize Allen? Or rather, he knows that's Allen, but he doesn't recognize his face. That's kind of creepy, Lavi silently monologued. He really did have a radar for Beansprout.  
More importantly Lavi did not recognize the man who was with Allen. Judging from his skin colour he was definitely a Noah, since he did not look like someone of African or Indian descent. Their eyes met for a second and Lavi instantly diverted his gaze. Should he make a run? But no, this was interesting. Interesting things should be recorded, right?  
The Noah with Allen too looked like he wasn't about to annihilate them or the people around them. Only Allen looked like he was enjoying stripping those big macho men off their money and clothes.  
The Noah did nudge Allen and whispered to his ear. Allen nodded and returned the men's clothes (but not money. Holy shit. Has Beansprout fallen to the dark side?).   
The group of macho men left and so did redhead-highly-possibly-Allen and the Noah. Lavi decided it was best to not tail them quickly and make himself known but it was hard to not laugh when like a poor joke of a fate Cross Marian strode inside the restaurant and had a left boot thrown to his head by an angry redhead.  
"You jerk! How dare you do that again!"  
"AHH? Is that a way to greet your master, you impertinent brat?"  
"Stupid Master!"  
"Idiot apprentice!"  
By now Kanda had finally noticed that the redhead whom he earlier had an urge to slice up was indeed Beansprout, so Lavi had to hold him to stop him from actually doing the job. The restaurant owner kicked out the master and student pair for making a noise.  
Lavi saw that the Noah too, was no longer in his sight.


	8. Secrets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I suck at titles

15 years ago

Father Alfred was dead.  
The Vatican wouldn't tell them but Cross Marian had long known that his former teacher had been executed right after he and Maria joined the Black Order. He still had no idea where the one remaining Innocence that Father Alfred discovered had gone to. Before the mad priest was caught he had shoved four of the stashed Innocence he found into Cross's and Maria's pockets. One of them remained with him until now in the form of a gun. Maria had swallowed one with the intent to puke it out after the Vatican people were done with their interrogation but it ended up stuck inside her, replacing her damaged vocal cords.  
They were young and naive. Cross thought hiding the Innocence would at least piss off the Central. He had no idea they were in for a pleasant surprise. Pleasant only for the Central, though. They caught a mad priest practicing sorcery but they also managed to discover two new accomodators. Finding Innocence was hard enough, to find four at the same time was an extremely rare occurrence. Finding them along with compatible users was a blessing.  
Cross never got along with other exorcists. He stuck like a gum to Maria, whom he had known since he learned to speak. He had more concerning worries than getting along with the likes of Tiedoll or Yeager. Maria did manage to befriend other exorcists, even though Cross knew she was still feeling bitter about losing her freedom. Her dream to be a singer and to perform in front of a crowd was gone, for now her voice was weaponized to be used against akumas.  
Father Alfred had gathered, as far as he knew, five Innocence. Only four were entrusted to them. When the subject of Father Alfred was brought up in the meeting they only mentioned four Innocence. Nobody talked about the fifth one. It was possible that he gave it to someone else but Cross couldn't figure out who. It couldn't possibly be Neah. Neah was dead. He was also a Noah - something Cross found out a little while before his death. That only left René and the man had left them way before Father Alfred managed to collect the fifth Innocence. Most importantly René was a Bookman Apprentice. He wasn't allowed to get involved.  
Speaking of René, Cross wondered if the redhead too had actually gone to the other world instead. Even when the Bookman came to record events there was no sign of René around at all.  
Twenty years passed and he never saw René. Maria died in the battlefield. He was promoted to a Marshall. The status gave him the freedom to keep her body in a coffin where he constantly kept her 'alive' using sorcery. He was a sick, sick man, he knew that. What kind of person kept his dead friend's body to use as a weapon?

One day after collecting an Innocence he saw him again. Except that he was no longer René. He went by the name Allen. Yet, his face and body were unchanged, as if he never aged for the past twenty years.  
"You've grown up, Cross. You're even taller than me now," René had laughed when he saw Cross, now a crass and sturdy man in his mid thirties .  
He gave the redhead a punch in the face instead.  
René had lost an arm. He called it a punishment for reasons Cross could no longer understand. He told Cross about the memories of Neah kept inside him and the Innocence forced into him by Father Alfred, both slowly killing him from the inside and regenerating his body at the same time as well.  
"It is so painful to even walk," René said with a bitter smile. "It felt like my insides are being crushed and rebuild countless of times. At this rate I will succumb to madness before I am able to bring this war to an end."  
"... René...."  
"It's Allen, Cross," he corrected, again with that faked smile. "The only way for my condition to stop is by suppressing the Noah memories inside me. However, since I took them from an alive Noah...it's impossible to seal a fully mature power. The only way is for me to be dead and reborn without any memories at all."  
Cross's eyes widened. "You mean..."  
René nodded. "You've perfected necromancy haven't you, Cross? With the power of Noah and Innocence together we should be able to fully revive me into a different person instead of keeping me alive with sorcery like Maria."  
Cross gritted his teeth. "You're shitting me. Even if we succeed..."  
René laughed. "At that time I'll have to ask for your assistance to raise me, Cross. I will be revived as a baby with a completely blank canvas but you're old enough to pass as my father."  
"... Like hell."

#

Present Time

"... And that's what happened."  
Allen almost couldn't believe it. He knew it must be true and he already had an inkling of what had happened but to hear the truth himself was still stunning.  
"It took me twenty years to perform necromancy perfectly. Using my skills and René's own power we managed to revert him back into a newborn baby. Unfortunately I was in no position to raise a child at that time so I had to leave you and let someone else take you in," Cross explained. "The Noah memory was sealed perfectly while the Innocence formed your arm and remained dormant, since your original body was without one. Well, the memory was bound to awaken soon, only we did not think this early."  
Allen stared at his left palm. "So... René... That was the past me."  
Cross snorted. "Don't misunderstand, stupid brat. That body may be originally René's, and Neah's memories are indeed inside you, but in the end you're just Allen. Your face is the same but your personality is far from René. You're a completely different person."  
"Master..."  
Funny how Cross could be the most tyrannical, insensitive man ever but at the same time knew exactly what to say to ease his worries.  
"For a starter, René was smart."  
"Hey!!!"  
"He was also someone who prefers to face everything head on. Unfortunately that made him a failure as a Bookman, though," Cross added. "He decided to get involved and made himself a part of the war for the sake of his best friend. He shouldn't have gotten attached."  
No wonder. Allen always wondered why Bookman often whispered the same thing to Lavi - to not get attached. The old man did not want a repeat of history.  
"Thirty-five years ago when the Order first recruited Maria and I into their side, they searched our body for the Innocence that Father Alfred - our teacher - found and hid. I knew for certain that there were five, but they only found four, including the one in Maria's vocal cords and my own Judgement. I had no idea where the fifth one went until..."  
Allen gripped his left arm. "Until you found me."  
Cross relaxed a bit. "The Bookman has had his Innocence for a long time but René did not. Back then they were recording from the other's side so there was no need to fight against akuma. René never told me exactly how he lost his left arm or how he obtained the Innocence from Father Alfred, though."  
"Fifteen years ago...what exactly happened?"  
Cross shrugged. "Who knows? We didn't have much time so I did the job without thinking twice. It didn't go as horrible as we thought but it wasn't perfect either. My aging stopped as a side effect. Instead of a complete and perfect body the Innocence that René had made up his lost arm."  
Allen frowned. "Is there a time limit to the sorcery? Will the magic ever wear off?"  
"Well...if you see me finally aging that means the magic is wearing off. So far nothing has happened yet but I can guess that if the caster dies the magic will cease to exist too."  
"And what will happen to me then? You will age and become and middle aged man, but what about me?"  
"... You'll be consumed by the Noah and the Innocence. Like René, you won't be able to die but everyday will be a living hell to your body."  
Allen couldn't imagine such hell. Even back then when he was fighting against his awakening Noah and the thing implanted by Apocryphos at the same time, he could barely stand from the immense pain. To picture his innards be crushed and rebuilt continuously made him shudder.  
"There's still a way. Unlike Rene you've assimilated well with Neah's power. Chop off your arm and you might be able to regrow it with Neah's power," Cross suggested.  
"... In case you've forgotten I already lost a big chunk of my heart. If I want to remove the Innocence completely from my body I need to take out my heart too," Allen deadpanned.  
"You will die," Cross said. "No, to be more precise you're going to be consumed with madness from the pain and wish you could die. The Noah side and Innocence will continue to fight. The only reason you are still you is because of your high compatibility with your Innocence. Once the Noah side is able to catch up with your synchronisation rate you'll suffer."  
"Or perhaps we can find an end to this pointless war before I can keel over," Allen replied. "The Earl doesn't need to make akumas. The Order doesn't need to send out Exorcists."  
"How?"  
"Destroy all Innocence? Then make the Earl stop creating akuma," suggested Allen.  
"Nice thinking. Have you finally fallen completely for the Noah?" Cross said sarcastically.  
"Why would you think... Oh," Allen muttered.  
He didn't know. Cross did not know. Now that Allen thought about it Cross was only close to Neah and perhaps was only loosely acquainted with Mana. Even Wisely admitted that he had never met René. Neah had separated his two circle of friends in his life. Of course Cross would never have the same train of thoughts as Allen.  
"Master," Allen said and paused momentarily. "Do you know who the Millennium Earl is?"  
Cross frowned. "Ha?"  
"Noah of Dreams, is Road. Noah of Pleasure is Tyki. Noah of Destruction, Neah. All of them were normal humans before their Noah genes were awakened," Allen explained. "Do you know who Millennium Earl, the Noah of Creation is?"  
Cross frowned. "Who the Earl..." He repeated and his voice trailed off as he realized what his pupil was hinting. Cross's eyes widened. "You...who?"  
Allen took a deep breath. "Master... It is Mana. Mana is the Millennium Earl. My father, and Neah's brother is the First Disciple of Noah, the Millennium Earl."  
Allen never thought he'd ever witness the day Cross's jaw dropped.


	9. Chapter 9

Still dealing with the shock, Allen decided to return back to the Ark. Initially he was planning to go back to his room, lie down, then have a nice warm bath and perhaps a cup of tea with tons and tons of biscuits just to forget about everything even for a minute. He already had his mind full with secrets of his...birth? Anyway, he did not need to entertain the likes of other Noahs right now.  
The Earl of course had a different idea.  
He was squished against the Millennium Earl's bouncy round tummy as soon as he returned to his now empty room. Apparently the man had taken the liberty to move Allen's belongings to his room during his few days of absence. Now not only he had lost his excuse to not sleep with the fat clown, he also lost his only space of privacy.  
"You're crushing me, Earl!" He squeaked. "Stop it, you fat clown!"  
The Earl took off his clown attire and was back as Mana. Still he pulled Allen into his arms and this time embraced tighter when he was met with little resistance. "I apologize for that, but you shouldn't have gone for too long. I missed you so much."  
"... I was only gone for less than a week," Allen pouted.  
"Long enough to make me lonely."  
They heard Wisely cleared his throat from behind them. "Can you two please stop spouting lines from a romantic theatrical play? That wasn't normal for a father and son or brothers... whichever you two are going for."  
"Ah yes, of course," Mana said. "Brother or son, it doesn't matter. Neah is my brother, and Allen is my son. Either way we are family, and they are both precious to me. The fact that Neah returns to me as my son just makes everything better."  
Wisely hummed. He then smirked and Allen instantly had a bad premonition.  
"Good for you, but your beloved Allen here is insecure. He thinks he's Neah's replacement and that you don't love him. You ought to show him more love, Millennium Earl," Wisely suggested.  
Mana looked horrified and shook Allen's shoulders repeatedly to the point of almost scrambling his brain. "Nonsense! Of course at first I was happy because my Neah has returned, but I love you just as much even when I had no idea who you are, my dear son! Now, how can I prove that to you?!"  
"You should watch over him more. I believe Allen loved bedtime stories," Wisely added.  
"Of course!!" Mana shrieked.  
Allen sent the Noah of Wisdom a murderous glance before he was choked by Mana's inhumanly strong arms.  
Later during family dinner Wisely also took the chance to blabber more to the Earl and reported that Tyki had brought Allen to gambling dens and brothels. This caused an uproar from both Mana and Sheril - in Sheril's case he was outraged that his adopted son had went to 'indecent, immoral' places. Allen thought Sheril was the last person he'd like to be lectured on decency and morality considering how much of a pervert and sadist that man was.  
"No more!" Mana screamed. "You're not allowed to go out without me anymore, Allen!"  
"Wait, what?!" Allen protested. "I returned just safe and fine!"  
"Oh, but the men you messed up weren't. Do you know that he went around stripping men to their underwear?" Wisely said.  
Tyki sighed. "Ah, I remember that. I was one of his victims too."  
"What? I want to see that!" Road exclaimed.  
Mana had already paled. "Men...stripping...brothels...no!!! Neah is a different thing, I won't allow you to grow up frivolous, Allen!"  
"Like I said, you got it wrong!" Allen continued to voice out his unheard protests.

 

###

Black Order HQ, Current Time

"Is the information true?" Komui asked again.  
The Finder nodded. "This is the second time we have spotted a young man resembling Allen Walker. The first occurrence was in London. The second time was in Liverpool. It seems that Exorcist Kanda Yuu and Bookman Junior were also there but chose to not pursue him," he reported.  
Lvellier snorted. "The Bookman Junior is not obligated to report to us. Kanda Yuu, however..."  
"Kanda Yuu has always been like that and has no interest other than completing his current mission. It is not an act of insubordination of some sort," Komui defended the exorcist.  
Klaud Nine raised an eyebrow. "And so? Did you call for a meeting between Branch Heads and the Marshalls just to discuss something unconfirmed?"  
Lvellier smirked. "Don't be silly, Marshall Klaud. I wouldn't take your time for anything trivial. However, the person supposedly resembling Allen Walker was spotted with one or two other people, most likely Noah. There was not a single akuma in a spot where Innocence was found, almost as if the akumas avoided the place so as to give way to the Noah. Don't you think that perhaps he has an ulterior motive of visiting those two places, plus in disguise and a fake name?"  
Komui frowned. "What do you suggest?"  
Lvellier smirked. "Send a search party for Allen Walker. If he's spotted...he is to be captured alive. That is the order from Central."


	10. The Lady Campbell

'Allen.  
Allen. My dearest nephew.  
Are you asleep? Finally that brat Noah of Wisdom is gone. They should rename him the Noah of Nosiness. Allen, listen carefully, this is the only time I will be able to talk to you without anyone disturbing us. All this time I've remained quiet because your body can now no longer contain the Noah. The minute I come out I will completely take over your body. If you try to fight me you will end up like René.  
Even if you destroy the Heart, Mana won't give up. His heart is clouded by hatred towards the Innocence that caused my death and your suffering. Even if all the Innocence are gone, he will make sure anyone associated with the Black Order is wiped off the planet.  
There is only one way to end this for good. We need to kill the Millennium Earl. We need to kill the Earl using the Heart.  
But Allen, Mana is only half the Earl. Well, perhaps, three quarters at least, since he absorbed most of the Earl's power. We need to eliminate the whole of Millennium Earl.  
You and I will both die. Are you still willing to do that?  
Of course, silly me. You always think about your friends before yourself.   
You asked Cross what will happen if the sorcery is reversed or gone right? Would you like to know?  
Let me tell you.  
.......  
Allen? Are you listening?  
You are accepting everything with more ease than I thought that I am more worried about you. Now Allen, all you need to do now is go back to the place where everything started. You know what to do - it is the reason I've been showing you that place for a long time ago. Mother knows the answer to our problem, Allen. Do not fret, she is a kind woman, despite her lies. If you ask, she will answer. Now wake up and get ready before Mana wakes up as well. Yes, it is cold outside - but come on, Allen. Now is our only chance. Go and knock the door. Remember - whatever happens, do not stop walking.'

###

Campbell Manor, Present Time

 

Lady Katerina Campbell was still alive. Allen was amazed by how the woman looked twenty years younger than she was supposed to be. She was still beautiful and charming. Her grey hair was tied neatly in an hairdo worn often by English noblewomen and her dress albeit old was made of fine quality fabric. More surprisingly she was also not shocked at all to see him standing at her front gate. She even welcomed him in for tea even though the gardener had tossed Allen a suspicious look when he introduced himself as a friend of the family's long lost first son.  
The housekeeper was out to the market so Katerina told him to wait for her at the drawing room. Even though it was supposed to be Allen's first time at the Campbell manor his feet somehow brought him to the room and he felt a sense of nostalgia.  
Sugar, lemon wedges, and milk - all were neatly arranged on the tray along with biscuits and sandwiches.  
"Are you all by yourself, Allen?" Katerina asked as she poured tea for her surprise guest and herself.  
Allen nodded. He managed to sneak out of the Ark this morning and left a note to Mana informing him that he was in France for some errands. At least that would buy him some time in case Mana decided to not wait and look for him. Thankfully the Kamelots had a party to attend, thus releasing Allen from four Noahs at the same time. Road was already sulking for being left behind the last time he went out with her uncle and brother, so Allen knew the Noah of Dreams definitely wouldn't want to miss the opportunity to go out with him.  
"I haven't seen you for a long time. You look just the same, my boy - in fact, quite younger," she commented.  
Oh, she was definitely not a fool.  
"Do you know about... Mana and Neah?" Allen dared himself to ask.  
Katerina leaned against the chair and shut her eyes. She sighed.  
"I knew about them the moment Adam was gone and the two took his place. I raised them as my beloved twin boys. I may not give birth to them but I am their mother," Katerina smiled. "Until the very last day I saw them, Neah and Mana called me 'mother'."  
"... Did you ever see Mana again?"  
She shook her head. "Not since the day he left, since Neah died. Everything was a mess ever since that day. Neah died by the hand of the Guardian. Mana won't come home anymore, not when his both of his other halves are no longer here," Katerina said.  
Allen nodded. He blinked. "Wait, both of his other halves?"  
The Lady Campbell smiled. "Why, his twin and the Heart of Innocence, of course. The Millennium Earl and the Mother of Innocence are like a sword and a shield. They oppose each other but at the same time they are also a pair."  
For a moment Allen's breath was halted as his brain began processing everything. He looked at Katerina's sincere eyes.  
"Who...where is the Heart now? How do you know it was here, and where did it go?"  
Katerina let out a small laugh. She took off the gold necklace around her neck and showed it to Allen.  
"It was here, previously. Now it is gone and I've replaced it with a normal diamond. Prior to Neah's death, I handed it to Father Alfred for safekeeping, for I have anticipated that my body will no longer be suitable to host it. Since the Earl has been replaced, it is just natural that the Heart too will be replaced. Unfortunately several days after I gave it to him he was arrested by the Vatican, and Neah somehow found out that the Heart was then in the possession of their opposing side."  
Allen choked. "It was with Father Alfred?"  
Katerina nodded.  
Allen tried to recall everything Cross told him. Father Alfred had five Innocence. One with Cross, one with Maria, two confiscated by the Black Order and the last one was given to René - which was his Crown Clown. Tiedoll and Yeager became Exorcists before Cross, so it was impossible for them. Definitely not Socalo or Klaud too, since they were recruited after they were found compatible with Innocence - same went to other exorcists who were recruited after they found the compatible Innocence like Krory, Miranda and Timothy.  
Kanda's Mugen was the same one he used in his previous life, so no. According to Lavi his Innocence was the one reserved for Bookman candidates who use Innocence.   
That only left Lenalee. She was the only one currently in the Order, aside from Kanda, whose Innocence was forcefully synchronized into her.  
That narrowed it to four candidates - Cross, Maria, Lenalee, and Allen himself. Maria was dead but her Innocence was still active. Master Cross was no doubt the strongest exorcist he ever knew and would be worthy of the Heart. Lenalee's Innocence had evolved for the sake of protecting her.  
But so did mine, Allen thought. His Innocence had been shattered but continued to protect him, even when he had turned into a Noah.  
"Do you know to whom the Heart was given to?" Allen asked, just in case.  
Katerina shook her head but curved a knowing smile. "Well, if you need a clue - the Heart and the Earl yearn for each other. Only when the Heart and the Earl reunite, the cycle will end, and the time will be destroyed."  
Allen's heart dropped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this chapter is kind of rushed, but...oh well.


	11. Almost Like Deja Vu

"Neah. You knew it."  
'I knew nothing, Allen. Please remember that in the time between my death and your first time playing the piano, my consciousness was buried deep inside René's and your minds. I wasn't even aware that you were not René until I realized that 35 years have passed but you look like a young beansprout.'  
"Excuse me, who are you calling a Beansprout?"  
'Hm? Who else is so short and scrawny you'd have to see him using a magnifying glass?'  
"I'm not short!!" Allen yelled, then blushed and sat back as he realized he would be seen as a mad man talking to himself in that restaurant. He sat down and cleared his throat while suppressing his annoyance at his adoptive uncle who was laughing in his mind.  
The meeting with Katerina was fruitful. Too fruitful to his liking, in fact. All the time they had been searching for the bearer of the Heart. It was with him all along. How was he supposed to know how that thing worked? He thought the Heart would be something a lot...cooler and guarded. Not something made into an ornament of a rich lady. There was still a lot of things he actually wanted to ask Katerina but did not dare to do so. Like, what in the world was she thinking when she raised the 'babies' of humanity's biggest enemy? How in the world did a priest who never worked for the Order know more about Innocence, to the extent of recognizing the Heart? Did the Order not confiscate his research journals? Everything sounded too fishy to Allen.  
"Wait, back then didn't you kill the Noahs because you knew they have the Heart and you want to be reborn?" Allen questioned Neah.  
'I did. Father Alfred has the Heart and he was caught, wasn't he?'  
"You could have noticed earlier. It was your mother's necklace, you fool. if had kept it to yourself..."  
'I wouldn't know unless the Heart found its accomodator. Any Innocence is the same. Without an accomodator it's just a plain old stone with a little magic that manifests only if threatened. By the time I attain my power my mother has lost the ability to become the accomodator.'  
"Then how..."  
'I have my ways, Allen. Perhaps one day you too will remember.'  
"Me? That means René knew it was the Heart when he got his Innocence. It must have occurred when Bookman brought René to the Order. Why did he run away?"  
'Who knows. Maybe he loves me too much? He did offer his body to me,' Neah answered jokingly.  
"Did you just make a dirty joke? I've had enough of that with Cross."  
'Anyway, I don't know. I had some intel from within the Church to keep track of whatever they have, and when I found out that they have the Heart it was too late. Though... Mister Funny Moustache might know something.'  
"Oh, you're talking about Lvellier....wait! How old is Lvellier? Shouldn't he know something? Does he recognize René? If he does he should recognize me."  
'Probably not, nephew. He doesn't look older than fifty. 35 years has passed. When René was still Bookman Junior he was likely still a brat. However, judging from Howard Link's previous actions I suspect Mister Moustache knows things.'  
"Link? What does Link have to do with everything? Isn't he...dead?"  
'Hm? Oh right...you didn't know.'  
And so Neah proceeded to tell him everything that happened in the original timeline. He recounted how Link had revealed that he was instructed to protect the Fourteenth.  
"That's definitely suspicious," Allen hummed. "Almost as if Lvellier knows your importance...or he knows what I hold."  
'Most likely the latter, I suspect. After the Fourteenth's death the bearer of the Heart disappeared. After all he came after me and took me in...he couldn't possibly return to the Bookman and the Order in that state.'  
Allen frowned and tried to align the whole story with what Cross told him. Something did not sound quite right. According to his own memories (or rather, Neah's memories) René left the study group months before Neah's death. Taking a piece of napkin Allen began mapping the timeline.  
And how the hell did the guy lose his left arm? Allen pondered for a while. When Cross met René his left arm was missing. Cross told him he had no idea René had an Innocence until he met Allen. Perhaps René tried to hide it from Cross, since he was now part of the Order? How? Did he chop off his own arm, knowing it would regrow?  
Allen shuddered, remembering his own agonizing experience. Shit, maybe René too was chased by the Apocryphos and chopped off his own arm to escape not only from the pain but also that creature. Tyki once threatened to do that to him to avoid Apocryphos from tracking them.  
Maybe he ran away not completely for the sake of his best friend but also because of that thing. But Crown Clown was persistent. It stated by him even in this state. Allen began to think that maybe Crown Clown was the one actually clinging to him.  
He left some money on the table and exited through the backdoor.

 

It was almost like déjà vu.  
Allen still remembered the time when Johnny went all the way to look for him. Even grumpy Kanda searched for him. This time he didn't help the samurai regarding his...err, love life? Torn friendship? Whatever. The egg never fell to the Order so there was neither Third Exorcists Project nor Alma Karma's revival, so no weird reunion of past lovers. Kanda didn't have anything he felt deeply indebted to Allen.  
However this time instead of Kanda and Johnny, Kanda and Marie, along with Tiedoll showed up. Shit. Allen was planning on going for another all-you-can-eat spree at the market before returning to the Ark. Kanda was one thing, but there was very little chance he could escape Marie's strings and Tiedoll's Art of Eden. He regretted going out through the backdoor. The dark, abandoned alley was the perfect place to strike without gaining attention of other people. Allen glanced around. Finders. Shit. How did he not notice that he was being followed by the Order? He managed to avoid the Order for months in his previous timeline.  
"Beansprout," Kanda said, "The Order has issued an arrest order on you."  
Allen gulped and took a step back. Kanda unsheathed his sword.  
"Finally, now I have the chance to slice you into pieces."  
Allen's jaw dropped. "What? I thought you just said arrest...also, it's Allen!"  
The samurai smirked. "It seems you haven't succumbed to the Noah yet."  
Actually, I'm on the verge of crumbling right now. At this rate if I'm forced to fight, I'll reach to a point of no return, Allen thought.  
He needed to escape to the Ark. However, summoning the Ark can take time and he needed to escape first. There was no way he could open the door to the gate and invite Tiedoll's team into an Ark full of Noahs. That would be like bringing plates of roasted beef to a hungry man.   
Kanda attacked first. Allen had no choice but to activate his Innocence to shield himself. He realized it was a mistake as soon as he felt an agonizing pain piercing through his body. He could still stand and managed to deflect Mugen but he couldn't help releasing a pained scream.  
The Dark Matter had completely assimilated in his body. What Cross feared had came true. For the past several months he hadn't activated his Innocence that the sudden activation 'shocked' his Dark Matter-infested body. Kanda continued to attack and his action proved to be a good distraction as Allen suddenly felt strings encircling and tightened around his ankles. Shit. Marie's Innocence could cut through even those gigantic Level Three akumas and Allen was unsure if he could regrow his foot like how Road regrew her torn skin and muscles.  
Well, there was always the option to crush that Innocence but Allen did not want to do that, not when akumas were still being made. The Order may be full of crap but the exorcists were innocent and he refused to make them defenseless against the work of his own adoptive father.  
Gritting his teeth he concentrated a mass of Dark Matter in his right hand and cut through the strings. It worked, his right fingers were intact albeit bleeding but he felt a similar pain as to when Tyki crushed his left arm. It was almost like his innards were boiling from activating Innocence and using Dark Matter at the same time.  
The Dark Matter and the Innocence together...now he understood how Millennium Earl and the Heart together would be crushed to nothingness.  
Kanda stared at him as if he was a being of other realm. "That was... Dark Matter. How are you not a Fallen yet? You're a Noah, and yet the Innocence stays with you," he questioned.  
Tiedoll activated his Art of Eden. A gigantic clay Greek Goddess easily scooped Allen and then pressed him down on the ground. The teen squeaked. As usual despite handling with a 'traitor' Tiedoll was gentle. He crouched down to look at Allen in the eyes.  
"Allen Walker...are you the Heart?"  
Allen's eyes widened. He heard gasps from Kanda and Marie.  
"What...are you talking about?" Allen uttered.  
Tiedoll did not blink. "You see...35 years ago around the time Cross Marian first came to the Order...there was a rumour that the Order finally found the bearer of the Heart. At first I thought it was Cross Marian himself. He was at that time the youngest exorcist in Black Order, only thirteen to fifteen or so, I believe...but his synchronisation with his Innocence was already high. Seeing you makes me think that perhaps I was mistaken."  
Allen narrowed his eyes. "Why would you say that?"  
"I find it hard to believe that a person can keep living despite housing an Innocence and Noah at the same time," Tiedoll said. "The only Innocence strong enough to withstand that much concentration of Dark Matter would be the Heart. You were told that you were abandoned as an infant weren't you? Considering what the Order did before, I wouldn't be surprised if you are one of their doings."  
Oh. Did Tiedoll think he was some sort of artificial baby, like Kanda?  
Well, he wasn't completely off. Allen wasn't a baby born from normal mama and papa.   
"Good point, but at the same time why would the Heart be with me, a traitor to the Order?" Allen pointed.  
To that Tiedoll smiled. "A traitor to the Order you are indeed, but not a traitor to your comrades. You have the power to wreck the world, yet ever since you went to the Noah there has been a significant reduce in akuma activity. I wonder why?"  
"...If only everyone else is as brilliant as you, Marshall Tiedoll," Allen grunted.  
Tiedoll laughed, then manipulated his Innocence to make a makeshift binding ropes tightened around Allen. The boy squeaked. No such luck in hoping Tiedoll to simply released him. At least he knew that the art lover won't interrogate him Lvellier-style.  
"Shall we find a better place to talk, young exorcist?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I watched the anime I noticed that Tiedoll's team is pretty strong. You have the ultimate defense from Tiedoll, powerful offense by Kanda, then defense+offense+support by Marie. Like, the ultimate combo. Or is it just me? Anyway, they're probably my favorite combo.


	12. The Heart

35 years ago, Black Order Old Headquarters

 

Sometimes he wondered why the Order designed the headquarters to be inaccessible by normal means. No regular thief would be sane enough to try and rob from such a creepy place and most akumas could fly anyway, so why on top of a darn cliff?  
"There has barely been any akuma for quite some time," René said whilst rowing.  
"Not since the last seventeen years. The only akumas around are the ones left by the former Millennium Earl. It won't be long until the new Millennium Earl completely regains his power since all Noahs have returned," said Bookman. "As soon as the new Millennium Earl attains enough power to make akumas, that is when we will officially join the Black Order. For now, we are only going to observe them a bit. I will personally train you how to use the Innocence."  
René smiled bitterly. "Mana will not be happy."  
He instantly knew he had uttered the wrong thing when Bookman hit his head.  
"That's why I keep telling you to not get attached, René. You never know in the end who will be your friend or foe. It's our duty as the Bookman to remain neutral as much as possible and remain a bystander. Now that we are here, remember - you are from now on, Allen."  
The redhead nodded. He followed his mentor's steady steps towards the old castle serving as the Black Order's Headquarters. They easily passed the inspection at the main entrance although the redhead was slightly surprised by the 'guard' at the main entrance. Bookman introduced him to the current Chief and Mr. Epstein, current Head of American Branch - apparently the only people currently awake in the Science Division. Everyone else looked like they were half-dead, buried under mountains of papers and books.  
"Is something happening? It's rare for the head of another branch to be here - unless there is a meeting I am not aware of," asked Bookman.  
Chief and Epstein exchanged looks.  
"An old priest from England was arrested two days ago. Not only he had secretly collected Innocence, he was practicing sorcery as well. We are waiting for the Central to arrive to continue the questioning," Chief informed them.  
Bookman did not miss how René had instantly paled. He cleared his throat.  
"May we go and watch the interrogation then?" Bookman asked.  
Epstein shrugged. "Go ahead and do your job."  
There was hardly any priest René knew who practiced sorcery other than Father Alfred, much less one who also collected Innocence secretly in the name of research. He couldn't help but to swallow hard once he entered the prison wing. It was cold and...silent. There were several cells with metal bars and a couple of fully isolated ones. The Bookman Apprentice spotted two familiar faces occupying one of the cells. It seemed like while Cross and Maria had been done, they left Father Alfred, the best part, for the last. Cross, the poor boy, looked paler than René had ever seen him and was lying unconscious on Maria's lap. The nun and songstress saw him and panic filled her eyes. She parted her lips but no sound came out. René shook his head and pressed his finger to his lips. Maria appeared to understand and silently leaned back against the cold wall of the cell albeit definitely disappointed.  
Father Alfred greeted him with a pair of dead eyes that suddenly revived. He waved his hand.  
"René... René!" He croaked.  
René nodded after receiving a silent approval from the Bookman. He approached the old desperate priest. They were separated by the iron bars but Father Alfred slipped his bony hands through and grabbed René's left arm. The guard who was standing by did nothing but watched them with hawk eyes.  
"Father Alfred?" René uttered.  
The priest let out a hoarse, lunatic giggle. "You're here. I found you. It's been desperately seeking for you, René, my brightest student," said he.  
René blinked. "It?"  
Father Alfred fished out something from his shirt and placed it into René's left palm. The redhead's eyes widened as he looked at the glowing, green stone. He recognized it - the same stone Katerina used to wear as her necklace.  
"An Innocence?" René whispered. "I cannot accept this, Father Alfred."  
"Nonsense!" Father Alfred roared, alerting the guards. "From the very moment it was passed to me, I immediately knew that thing desires you. Every night...every single night, your face would appear in my nightmares. You, the most important person to the Millennium Earl. You will bear the fate, René."  
Bookman decided it was time to stop the mad priest. "He is no longer your student, Father Alfred. He is to be the next Bookman, and a Bookman's Innocence has always been for generations the same two pieces-"  
But his voice was stuck halfway. All of a sudden the green stone glowed brightly, enveloping his whole body. René screamed as he felt pain engulfing his whole being. He heard faint voices of the two guards and Bookman, along with a couple new voices.  
When he opened his eyes, all he saw was the white ceiling of the infirmary.  
His left arm was now a blood red limb with ugly scaly skin. His head still throbbed from the pain. René had always known that as a Bookman Apprentice one day he would have to wield an Innocence. He just never thought that he would be forced to merge with one that was not the Hammer. For decades the Hammer never rejected the Bookman candidates.  
The people from Central came to see him. They discussed on whether they should remove the forcefull merged Innocence and replace it with the one intended originally for him, the Hammer. However, the Innocence he now had was parasitic. They would have to chop off his arm.  
More importantly the Hammer refused to accept him. They even had Hevlaska examine his compatibility with the Hammer and it came out as only ten percent. Ironically the Innocence forcefully synchronized with him was completely compatible with him. It was just like Father Alfred had said - the Innocence had been waiting for him.  
Epstein theorised that perhaps the attached Innocence hindered the Hammer from synchronising with René. The Cardinal disagreed.  
"If he is meant to wield the Hammer, his body should have rejected that Innocence in the first place. Yet, how did an Innocence simply placed in one's hand morphed into a parasitic form? There is no other reason other than...that Innocence is special."  
Marveled by the discovery they brought in the old priest. Father Alfred rambled in a half crazed state for an hour before revealing that René's Innocence was the Heart. The priest was insane at this point but the Central were somehow convinced. René was perplexed. Father Alfred had done various research about Innocence secretly so he might have had an inkling, but how did the Cardinal know? And why did he feel an absolute terror just by seeing the man?  
"He's definitely the Heart. According to the old manuscript the Heart is like the other half of the Earl. He's the only man alive closest to the reincarnated Millennium Earl."  
Upon questioned that was what Father Alfred had answered. The Central believed him, despite branding him an untrustworthy fraud of a priest. And so began his days of torturous interrogation at the Black Order despite Bookman's protest. In the end the old man could not do anything, for René had proven to be a failure as a Bookman Apprentice. The Hammer rejected him, and he had gotten himself directly involved in this big mess. The Central simply told Bookman to find a new apprentice, for there was no replacement for the Heart.  
Bookman was dejected. René refused to utter a word about the identity of the Millennium Earl, nor was he willing to follow the Order's wish. He refused any food and only took small sips of water due to fear of any drugs in his food that would eventually open his mouth. His savior came in the form of a golden golem that managed to sneak in unnoticed. He whispered to the golem to return to its master and convey the news.  
A few days later René was released - only to allow the redhead to collect his belongings. He knew it was just a farce - the Chief was hoping he would go and see the Earl to warn him. He was a Bookman Apprentice. He was almost always traveling and had no place to call home, no other belongings than the single luggage he had brought to the Order when he came with his mentor. The church was perhaps the only place he could call home, but even then it was already gone.  
He walked through ditches and dark alleys in hope to lose the Finders assigned to watch over him. He never thought that he would instead come across Neah's battered body lying in a pool of blood. Did the Order already know?  
At that point he could no longer think straight. If Neah, the current half of an Earl were to die now, Mana would be incomplete and unstable. Then perhaps a new Heart accomodator will be chosen. Or perhaps a new Earl will come instead. Whatever will happen, it will be disastrous, for Neah would not be reincarnated like other Noahs. René had no way of predicting the outcomes but the only thing in his head then was to save Neah.  
He couldn't save the Noah of Music, but he did whatever he could to somehow preserve Neah's existence. He took in Neah's memories, and never returned to that town for years.  
He did so many things to somehow separate the Innocence from his body due to the immeasurable pain, to an extent of having a underground doctor to amputate his arm. He lost a limb but it took no more than a few days to realize the Innocence was somehow still inside him. He was glad that when he met Cross again he was missing his left arm. Otherwise Cross would find out about the abomination in his body.  
Mana. René wondered what happened to Mana. He didn't even know what happened to Neah after he took off with Neah's memories. He couldn't stay long, not when he was pursued.  
He asked Cross about it. Cross refused to answer. He only confirmed to him that Mana was alive and became the Earl.  
"Please take care of me Cross, when I become unable to do so."  
"Hmph."  
"... Don't be so cold. I helped you clean up your mess so many times before."  
"You're about to get me into a really deep shit, René."  
He laughed. "No more, Cross. It's Allen, remember?"  
He held Cross's rough hands. "The war is always complicated but I am always on my friends' side. I am indebted to you, Cross. If I were to remember this moment, do come and collect the debt."  
Those were his last words.


	13. Chapter 13

35 years ago, 4 months before the event

Neah was out again. Mana anxiously paced back and forth in his room. Nothing had changed when they first awakened their Noah and Mana thought it would remain the same. However, lately Neah had more than often chose to be with his friends rather than with Mana and Katerina. Even though Neah was his brother. His twin, and other half. Mana had no idea what his twin brother was doing. At first Neah only went to the church for piano lessons from Sister Maria. Even when he became even better than Sister Maria, he still continued to come there. Cornelia, the head servant had heard rumours that their young master had been hanging out with that mad priest, Father Alfred.   
But René was with Neah, so Mana wasn't too worried. He knew he could trust René. Mana was emotional and Neah had his naughty sides, but it was always Katerina and René who managed to keep them from troubles.  
He jumped a little when he heard the door knock. René came to see him with a smile.  
"Where is Neah?" Was the first thing that popped out of Mana's mouth.  
The redhead laughed. He took off his glasses to fix them. Mana always found himself mesmerized by René's eyes. They were pure and bright, free of judging thoughts. René told him that was because as a future Bookman he could not have biased thoughts but Mana always thought it was simply because René was just purely kind.  
"Still at the church. He should return soon. I am here to say my goodbye."  
Mana raised an eyebrow. "Where are you going?"  
"I've extended my stay here far too long. I must continue my own training," René said. "Take care of yourself and your brother, Mana."  
"... It will be lonely without you, René."  
"Nonsense. Take care of your darling mother as well and we shall meet again. Though, when that time comes I will no longer be René."  
Mana gave his friend one last tight hug. "What should I call you the next time I see you?"  
The redhead smiled.  
"Allen."  
René bid his goodbye to Katerina and gave her a peck on the cheek.   
That was the last time Mana had seen René.  
René never returned, despite how Mana made sure to chant the name Allen in his head every single day.  
So when he met the brown dog with round innocent eyes so much like René, he called it Allen.

Current Time, Noah's Ark

"Earl! Wake up, Earl! We are back, and it's dinner time!"  
Millennium Earl opened his eyes. Road's small face grinned at him. He looked to the left. No Allen. It was a dream. A lovely memory but a terrible dream that had him sweating all over and palpitating.  
"Allen went out to have fun in Paris, he said," Road said with a pout as she handed him the note. "You've been sleeping all day, you lazy one! If you weren't going to do anything you should have come to the party!"  
Still half asleep the Earl trotted to the dining room anyway and was greeted by familiar sights of Sheril, Tryde, Tyki, Lulubell...no Allen. Everyone else was there but not his Allen.  
"Where is Allen?" He asked.  
"I just told you, he went out for a while. He will pop up soon. Allen never misses dinner."  
No. That was wrong. Neah wasn't there when he came home. Allen was no longer there when he woke up. René told him he would be back but he never returned.  
Clash!!!  
Road shrieked. Even Tyki gasped. Sheril's jaw dropped upon seeing the Earl shed his 'skin' to reveal a very enraged Mana. The man was seething. His fists were still tightly clenched on the table cloth. All the silverware and dishes were now clattered on the floor. The akuma maids frantically tried to gather the broken plates and soup bowls but froze as they received an angry glare from their master.  
"Millennium Earl?" Road called.  
"I remember. I remember now. I remember what happened," Mana said in between gritted teeth. "It was them. The Order. The Order killed Neah."  
Sheril blinked. "The Order...? But wasn't it you, who..."  
"It wasn't me!!!" Mana screamed and buried his face in his palms. "Yes, it was me who devoured my dearest brother...but only because Neah was... Road! Road, you know exactly what happened! So did you, Wisely!!"  
His hand slammed loudly on the table and Road trembled. She had already expected this to happen. She glanced at Wisely who was already cowering from his migraines. She had promised to not tell a soul about what had happened that day. Not until Neah found a way.  
"Road," Tyki's voice was firm. "What happened? What did the Earl mean?"  
Road's voice quivered as she finally broke a promise lasting 35 years and recounted the event. She told them everything - of how the information on the Heart was leaked to Neah, and that the Noah of Music had chosen to kill his whole family with his own hands to ensure that they would be reincarnated again but had been killed himself by the guardian of the Heart, who managed to find them before Neah could finish them off.  
Sheril was in disbelief. Even other Noahs including Lulubell who usually showed no interest were astonished.  
"Why...did you choose to keep this a secret?" Tyki asked furiously.  
"It was Neah's idea. He didn't want...he did it for all of us," Road sobbed. "The Earl won't calm down no matter what I did, so I had to keep quiet."  
"... And Allen?"  
"The one who was Neah's friend. He 'died' and reverted to infancy as Allen. He was the one who offered to keep Neah," Wisely suddenly answered. "Without that the Fourteenth wouldn't reincarnate and the Earl will continue to be an incomplete half."  
"How do you know that?"  
"The second time Allen went out I tagged along. He didn't notice I was there to listen secretly. Cross Marian revealed everything."  
Mana stood. "That doesn't matter. Where is Allen now?"  
Sheril grabbed the handwritten note, crumpled it and tossed it away. "I think not Paris."  
Mana scowled. "Gather all the akuma. Find him. We are going to collect him and destroy the Black Order for good."


	14. Order VS Noah

The prison was a cold place.  
Words could not describe the anger he felt upon seeing his other half fallen to the hands of their enemy again. But this time there was no more need for pretense. Mana could not care less even if that the existence of Noahs were revealed to the whole world. In fact he had zero concern for anyone other than his family. History shall not repeat.  
Thanks to the intel from hundreds of akumas he sent all around England (the first place he suspected where Allen would be) they managed to find the boy quite easily. Road found the place immediately - it was the same place she had went to through her Door. It seemed like they were a bit too late by now, for his boy was now imprisoned, with a Marshall and two exorcists watching over him. The three - Mana recognized all of them - were instantly alerted by his presence and had their guards up. Tiedoll activated his Innocence to form a second cage imprisoning Allen while Kanda and Marie immediately assumed their fighting position. Allen was looking at him with frantic eyes but spoke no word. Alarms blared across the building to alert all members of the Order about the presence of intruders.  
"Well hello there," Tyki greeted. "Mind if we retrieve our lost member? He got too occupied in his feasting spree that he forgot to return home on time."  
Tiedoll took a defensive position. "Not so fast. I suspect my theory is right, for you seem to be so desperate to get him back," he said.  
Kanda smirked. "Ambushing the Headquarters with all twelve Noahs and the Earl just to take back a single Beansprout? I'm beginning to think you might have hit the bullseye's, Marshall."  
"Call me Papa, Yuu-kun. Ma-kun, how is it going?"  
"Backup is arriving soon. Bookman, Lavi, and Lenalee are also in the area. Miranda and Krory will take some time."  
Road frowned. "Wisely...why is Allen not escaping? He can use the dark matter to break that binding."  
Wisely remained frozen in a trance for a moment. "... He can't. He's reached his limit. He can't control the Noah inside him anymore if he uses more dark matter."  
"And what do they mean by hitting the mark?"  
Wisely's eyes widened. Road frowned in confusion. She then noticed that her brother was trembling. She looked at Allen and realized the boy hadn't spoken since the beginning.  
Allen was making that face. The same expression Neah had 35 years ago. The Noah of Dreams gasped.  
"He's the Heart, Road," Wisely whispered. "He's the Heart, and they've got him. Again."  
Road trembled furiously. "We can't. I can't let Neah die again because of our carelessness."  
Instantly Road opened her door with the intent to get Allen back but Tiedoll and Marie were quick. The art lover swiftly created a thick layer of protection around them while Marie snatched a bundled up Allen away from Road's grasp. Kanda proved his strength as a marshall-to-be as he deflected Tyki's and Lulubell's simultaneous attack.  
It became almost like a game of rat and mouse inside the prison wing - soon to no longer function as a prison with the walls collapsing one by one as the exorcists focused on escaping the Noahs. Luckily one of them was not athletically inclined. It was hard to run away from Jasdevi's continuous storm of prank-like attacks, and Lulubell's speed in her feline form was making it difficult to lose them but soon after just a split second before she managed to pounce on Marie a pair of boots with the speed of sound kicked her away.  
"Lenalee!" Marie was relieved.  
"Sorry we are late, Kanda, Marie, Marshall Tiedoll," Lenalee smiled. She caught the sight of Allen staring at her with wide eyes and immediately buried him in a hug that would earn a death threat from Komui. "Allen!!"  
"Help has arrived!" Lavi grinned as he and Bookman appeared at the main gate. "Geez, you shocked us with the announcement that twelve Noahs and the Millennium Earl have infiltrated. I thought it was a sick prank."  
Allen snuck a glance at Bookman. To think that the guy was his old mentor... Bookman definitely recognized his face but being a neutral observant decided to say nothing. Bookmen were supposed to have perfect memories after all, according to Lavi. They were talking about a guy who remembered every single scratch on a key after all.  
Bookman's good acting aside, Allen couldn't fathom the ridiculous position he was thrown in. Unknown to some of them history was repeating. By the looks on Wisely and Road's faces they might have guessed why Allen was currently letting himself carried away like a doll. For a few moment he forgot that Wisely could read minds.  
There were twelve Noahs minus the Earl (who was trotting after them in his fat clown suit). There were four Exorcists and two Bookmen currently at the battlefield, although more would be coming. Wisely was pretty useless in fights so the Noahs were down to eleven. The Exorcists might have a chance of winning as long as the Earl didn't summon akumas or join the battle himself.  
But he, the Heart, was in the mercy of the Exorcists.  
Tiedoll raised an eyebrow. "Full force of Noahs attacking this place at the same time? Sounds odd, don't you think so Walker?"  
Allen's face reddened. He caught Bookman's eyes peering deep.  
You knew, old man. You were there when I was stripped off my freedom and forced to go against my friends in the name of saving humanity. You know that I am the Heart. You may have doubts before but now that you know that I'm the Fourteenth, now that you see me resembling your former student even more...you realize it was me, Allen thought.  
"Allen?"  
Allen froze. He didn't realize how madly he must have glared at the old Bookman that Lavi had to call his name.  
"What's with that scary face? You're still Allen aren't you?" Lavi asked.  
Allen shook his head. "Sorry. I was taken aback by the familiar face. This is not the reunion I imagined."  
"Oho? I'm curious to know what kind of reunion you were planning. What were you thinking going around with dyed hair and using a fake name?" Lavi grinned.  
Allen laughed. A fake laugh. "I'm a traitor, remember? Besides, what I used was hardly a fake name. It was just another persona."  
Lavi frowned. Bookman's face paled albeit the unchanging expression.  
"... This is so frustrating. It's almost like the last 35 years have been for nothing," Allen laughed. "No matter how much I try to run I've always failed. Even if my arm is shattered it keeps coming to me, telling me to put an end to everything."

'We should end it, this time.'  
Allen finally realized it now. For the first time in centuries the Earl and the Heart were in the same vessel. He remembered Neah once said that he would kill Mana and become the new Earl.  
Only by becoming the Millennium Earl himself, the Earl and the Heart would reunite in one vessel. The Earl side would be destroyed, and so will all Innocence. To do that...  
He had to 'eat' Mana.

"... Marshall," Allen uttered. "Please let me return to my family."  
Tiedoll gave him an outraged look. Lavi looked at him as if he had grown two more heads.  
"Please," said Allen. "Stop this fight."  
Kanda placed the tip of his sword at Allen's neck. "Are you acknowledging that you have chosen the Noah's side?"  
Allen clenched his teeth. "I am always on my friends' side."  
"I'm not letting you go without a word, Allen," Lenalee argued.  
In spite of their protest the Millennium Earl seemed more pleased that his son had chosen their kin and furious at the same time that his enemies were still holding his son hostage.  
"Sorry young missy, but Allen has spoken the right thing. Now, you either return my son or we can always have a nice excuse to finally annihilate all of you, detestable exorcists."  
The Earl pulled out his sword. The Noahs attacked. The exorcists fought back. Allen sat down and watched helplessly. The pain in his body throbbed so badly. His eyes widened with fear at the sight of Lvellier, Link, and other Crows approaching the battlefield.  
No. Don't come close.  
Apocryphos was there, in his Cardinal skin and Allen lost his ability to speak for a moment. That guy. Didn't he try to 'merge' with Crown Clown before? He probably wanted to take the Heart out of Allen and prevent him from destroying the Heart along with the Earl. If the Heart is destroyed...so will Apocryphos.  
In the midst of the messy battles and confusion the Cardinal took out a small dagger from his sleeve and had slashed through the defenseless Wisely. The dagger was most likely a part of his own body, which explained why Wisely easily fell down from the single strike. Just like Road, in Allen's previous timeline. Unfortunately either everyone turned a blind eye or nobody but Allen noticed that the Cardinal wasn't supposed to be able to do that.  
This time he was aiming for Road while everyone else was occupied with their own battle. Allen cried her name but it was too late. Road let out a scream only noticed by Sheril. Allen's eyes followed Apocryphos's movement as he snuck to get the Earl from behind.  
No. Mana will survive, but...with his weakened state...  
Logic flew out of his brain. Forcing the remaining willpower he had he broke away from Tiedoll's Art of Eden and Marie's Noel Organon, then dashed towards his adoptive father.  
Time seemed to have stopped when everyone else noticed that standing between the Earl and the Cardinal was Allen Walker. A piece of dagger had gone deep into his torso, while his left arm had activated to rip off the Cardinal, who...was not a human?  
Lenalee felt her breath stopped when Allen collapsed before the devastated Earl. The Earl let out a hysterical scream and shed off the fat clown skin to reveal a middle-aged man with dark skin and stubble.

 

"Neah!!! No!!! Not the second time..." Mana cried as he pulled Allen into his arms.  
Mana was crying. He hadn't seen Mana this broken hearted since he died. He lifted his trembling right hand to touch his brother's face.  
Allen was crying inside. Do not fret, Allen. Everything will not be a waste. Your sufferings shall not be for nothing.  
"Brother."  
Mana cupped his face.  
"Stop it, you crybaby."  
Mana cradled him closer. He felt his other half's frantic inhales on his neck.  
"I will not survive, brother."  
"N...no..."  
"After all, I am just a remnant of you."  
"No. Don't leave me."  
"Brother... I can't."  
"... Take me, Neah. Take me, all of me, if that is what you need to live."  
Neah smirked, and pulled his other half closer, chest against chest, hearts connected.  
"If that is what you wish...I will always love you, Mana."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I suck at action scene, so..no action


	15. The End and The Beginning

Komui stared in disbelief at the piles of ashes presented on the long spread out red cloth.  
The Innocence were all gone. All of them, dissolved into fine dust. At the very end of the table was a sack of what was left of the Cardinal.  
"... The Noahs?" Komui asked.  
"... All back to normal humans. They are still held in the cells, but even after interrogation it seems like none of them remember anything about Noah and Innocence," Tiedoll answered. "The Millennium Earl...just disappeared. Not even a body remained. Reports from Finers all over the world confirmed that all akuma are gone as well."  
"... Allen?"  
Lenalee sobbed. "... Basement. Marshall Cross said his heart has been pierced through and replaced by Innocence before, so now that the Innocence is gone..."  
Komui bit his lips. All the Noahs were gone. The Innocence were gone. All the akumas attacking the Headquarters were also reduced to ashes. The Central talked about disbanding the Black Order once they ensured everything was settled for good. The Exorcists were released from their duties, free to go to wherever they wanted. Komui doubted they would have an easy time adjusting to a normal life, especially people like Kanda who had been born and raised as an exorcist.  
Quietly he went alone to the basement. His eyes stared at the cold, pale body of one Allen Walker, laid inside a coffin in the heart of the basement. For some reason Allen looked older now in his death. Komui closed his eyes and recited a silent prayer.  
He opened his eyes and smiled at the approaching redhead.  
"It may just be my eyes but you look like you've aged by ten years, Marshall Cross," Komui commented. "Did you grief for him that much?"  
Cross huffed. "Nah. Just the result of an undone spell."  
Komui blinked. "Undone spell?"  
Cross snorted. "Nothing. Did anybody ever hear what was his last words?"  
Komui shook his head. "According to Lavi, the Fourteenth took over before that. But well...if he had it right, that would be; 'I am always on my friends' side', I believe," said the Chief of Black Order.  
Cross took a long drag of his cigar. Until the very end, it always hit him hard. Of how everything was so...similar. Perhaps it was indeed true that history will always repeat if one refuses to learn from mistakes.  
"Too bad the only one who ever knows the whole truth behind everything won't be able to tell the tales," Cross said.  
Komui smiled bitterly. "Unless you choose to do the same thing you did to your former colleague. Maria, was it?"  
Cross shook his head. Allen would be super mad if he did that. One could only be brought back from River Styx one too many times.  
"With this, it will be the end of the cycle," Komui said. "Hevlaska really wasn't wrong when she predicted him to be the Destroyer of Time."  
Cross glanced at the peaceful face lying lifelessly and laughed.  
"Nah. Don't you think Creator of New Time suits him more?"

###

Extra

 

21st Century

Lavi carefully opened the door after failing to receive a response despite ringing the bell for a whole minute. Komui was out, so this time he did not need to watch for murderous eyes that assumed everybody out there was aiming for his sister. Lavi couldn't believe that the guy was willing to quit his job at a big company just to move closer to a place near their college. The dorm was safer since it was limited to only girls, unlike the Lee's apartment, where Lenalee often welcomed Lavi and Kanda in for group assignments. He frowned. "Watching mukbang again, Lenalee?"  
Lenalee sighed and paused the YouTube video. "If only I can eat that much and not get fat..."  
"Who are you watching? Allen Walker again?" Lavi asked.  
She nodded. "He's super big on YouTube now. He's so cute and so polite, but he is such a glutton and he always enjoy whatever he eats."  
"I don't understand girls. Anyway, we are going to be late for the group discussion and Yuu won't be happy to hear that you've wasted his 'precious' time to watch other people stuff his mouth."  
True to what Lavi had said Kanda was already putting on a sour look on his face when they arrived at the library. Lenalee chuckled and put her hands together.  
"Sorry, Kanda. I got occupied by something else..."  
Kanda raised an eyebrow but spread out the text books and blank sheets over the large desk anyway while both of his groupmates pulled out the chairs.  
"Watching people eating again? I don't get it," Kanda grunted.  
"What? You guys watch football games. Lavi too, you watch gaming videos instead of playing the games yourself," Lenalee complained.  
"That's because I can't afford those games," Lavi provided an excuse.  
"Well, I can't afford to eat that much too," Lenalee pouted.  
"Shut up you two, you're making too much noise," Kanda hushed.  
Lenalee and Lavi turned around and smiled apologetically to Miranda, the librarian at the counter. The shy but kind lady simply returned their smile and went back to her computer.  
They began their work in silence but the peace did not last long. A pair of strong hands playfully strangled Kanda's neck from behind causing the Japanese to curse. Daisya Barry, their third year senior giggled at the reaction. Marie, the research assistant at the faculty came in and shushed the boy while apologizing to Miranda. The poor woman just had to deal with rowdy college students making unnecessary noises in the library everyday.  
"Professor Tiedoll is asking for you, Kanda," Marie informed him. "He would like to have the sculpture ready in three days for the art exhibition."  
Kanda spluttered. "There's no way I can get it done in three days. Don't we still have a week to get it ready?"  
"The Music Club is holding a mini concerto and they are requesting posters and paintings to be made," Daisya said. "It seems like there's an exchange student whose uncle is a worldwide famous pianist, and he's a pretty talented one too, so they want to put out a concerto to raise more money."  
"Hiring us just to make posters and paintings? What is he, some kind of super star?" Kanda uttered with a scowl.  
"Hey, he's pretty famous on YouTube you know. If I'm not mistaken..."  
"Talk of the devil, there he is," Marie said, pointing at a young man standing at the counter to greet Miranda.  
Kanda blinked. He was a young one, a couple years younger than him perhaps. His skin was white and pale, his hair a shade of reddish brown and his eyes silver.  
There was no scar that ran from his forehead across his cheek.  
Kanda shook his head. What was he thinking?  
"Hello," the young man greeted them with a polite smile. "I'm Allen, first year, majoring in Classical Music. Pleasure to meet you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little extra for fun. I love mukbang videos and I think Allen would definitely make a good one.  
> Thanks to everyone reading this ;)


End file.
